Are We Just Friends?
by PunkxRockxPurplex
Summary: Kiba and Hinata used to be best friends. But then Kiba moved away, and Hinata had was left behind. When he shows up again in the middle of high school, could love blossom? Will things continue like he hadn't moved? Or will things get too difficult?
1. Prologue

Hello! I know I have another story going on, but I wanted to do a Kibahina multichapter. Wow, I just realized that I've written three stories, and all of them involve Hinata with either Shino, Naruto, or Kiba. I like all three pairings, but right now I'm liking Kibahina more than Naruhina, because I had an epiphany a few nights ago while I was typing this up. Hinata's been chasing after Naruto since they were twelve, and he still hasn't freaking noticed. Well, I'm not caught up on the anime or manga that well, but from I know, he still likes Sakura. I realized that, if the blonde baka hasn't noticed by now, he ain't gonna. So, I'm switching all of my pairing preferences around, even though my friend will kill me. She's a Sakura cosplayer and she absolutely despises our Naruto. Now I'm a Narusaku shipper instead of Naruhina.

Okay, enough rambling, on with the story. I don't own anything, as you should know.

Hyuga Hinata, age eight, walked around the park, humming to herself as she looked around. Her little puppy, named Komaru, trotted faithfully by her side, panting happily and randomly chasing after birds and butterflies. The small dog yipped excitedly and jumped up in the air, trying to catch a bluebird. Hinata laughed as Komaru landed flat on her belly after failing to catch the bird. She looked up at her laughing master and bounded into Hinata's arms, licking her face.

Komaru sniffed and jumped out of Hinata's arms, coming back quickly with a couple stems of lilac, Hinata's favorite flower. "Good girl! I knew there was lilac growing around here somewhere!" Hinata said, patting the puppy on the head. The puppy barked happily and wagged her silver tail, running circles around her master. Hinata giggled when the puppy hopped up on her shoulder and licked her face.

"Hey, Freaky-Eyes!" Hinata looked up and saw some boys from her class approaching her. They had ducked away from their parents. Hinata lived close enough to the park to be able to go by herself. Her father could always keep a close eye on her. Komaru's silver fur bristled and she growled at the boys. They ignored the small dog and continued to approach the girl, who was backing away.

"Why don't you go back to the mother ship already? I'm sure you're alien family wants you back. Well, maybe not." the first boy said. Hinata didn't say anything, but the growls that ripped from Komaru's throat grew in volume and ferocity. "Maybe she's here waiting for the spaceship to come down to get her." the second boy put in. "P-Please leave me alone…!" she said, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. They always teased her about the way she looked. Because of her eyes.

"Shut up! You're voice is weird, too, and you stutter a lot!" the last boy said. "L-L-Little H-H-H-Hinata ca-can't sp-sp-speak r-right!" the first boy laughed. The others followed his lead and started mocking her shy stutter. A sob escaped from her lips and she fell to the ground, crying. Komaru growled, snarled and barked at the boys.

"Hey, you three!" everyone looked to see a boy with floppy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes standing there. He looked a little taller than Hinata. The thing that made the boys stare at him was the red fang tattoos on his cheeks. When he opened his mouth to speak, Hinata noticed his canines were larger than the average persons. The boys backed away from him a little.

"She asked you to leave her alone. Now move it before I set my dog on you!" he said, folding his arms across his chest. A small white puppy barked from beside the boy. "That thing couldn't even break the skin!" the first boy said, trying to be brave. "Akamaru, sic 'em." the boy said. Akamaru growled and jumped on the first boy, biting his arm and drawing blood. "Ow! Get him off!" the first boy yelled. The second and third boys tried to pry the dog off of their friend, but stopped suddenly and cried out in pain.

Komaru had bitten him in the leg. "Let's get out of here!" they third boy shouted. The other two agreed and ran for it. Komaru trotted over to her master and tried to lick the tears off of her face. Hinata wiped her eyes and petted Komaru on the head. "Are you okay? Those kid's were pretty mean." the boy said, offering a hand to help her up. She nodded and gingerly took his hand. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba, and this is my dog Akamaru." he said, pointing to his dog, who barked. "I-I'm Hyuga Hinata, and this is my puppy, Komaru." Hinata said.

"I just moved here from Tokyo. My mom's a vet." he said, smiling. "W-Wow, that's s-so cool! The old vet we take Komaru to is really mean and sometimes yells at me." she said. "That old fart went out of business, my mom's replacing him, and she's a lot nicer." Kiba said. "Kiba-kun, where did you run of too?" Kiba turned around. "Over here Mom!" he called. A woman with short brown hair and eyes almost exactly like Kiba's appeared.

"Why did you run off like that?" she asked. "Because Hyuga-san was getting teased by some mean kids and I had to stop them." he said as Akamaru bounded into his arms. "Oh? And is Hyuga-san alright?" Inuzuka Tsume turned to Hinata, who had stopped crying but still had tears streaking her face. "I-I'm fine, Inuzuka-san, thank you for your concern." Hinata bowed and Komaru yipped her thanks. "Oh, and who would this be?" Tsume asked, looking at the small puppy. "This is Komaru, my puppy." Hinata said as Komaru jumped on Hinata's shoulders. "Well, it certainly looks like she loves you." Tsume chuckled. "I love her very much, and she loves me back!" Hinata said, petting Komaru on the head. Komaru licked Hinata's cheek.

"Well, Hyuga-san, it's getting late, where are your parents?" Tsume asked. "Father let's me come to the park alone, because he can see me from the house." Hinata said, pointing to her home. "Oh, so your of the main family." Tsume said, looking at the mansion. "Yep!" Hinata responded. "Hyuga-san, will I see you tomorrow?" Kiba asked. "I'll most likely be here again, so yes." Hinata said, nodding. "Okay, good! And maybe we'll see Komaru in the vet's office for a check-up!" Kiba said. "Okay! Bye!" Hinata said as Tsume took her son's hand and led him off towards their apartment.

Two years passed, and Hinata and Kiba were in fifth grade. They were inseparable. Every day, Hinata would go over to the Inuzuka's apartment and stay there until five, when her family had dinner. Kiba started referring to her as another member of the pack. But one day, everything changed.

Kiba came in to school looking depressed. "Kiba-kun, what's wrong?" Hinata asked, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Hina-chan, we're moving." he said. Hinata blinked. "Huh?" she asked. "Mom got a better opportunity in Hokkaido. We're gonna be gone by the end of the week." he said.

The two of them tried desperately to stay in touch, but it faded in time, and soon, the two inseparable friends became separated.

**Please review! And favorite, if you want!**


	2. Planning Stages

Hello readers! I'm back! I didn't give people a big chance to review on the prologue, but I can't help it, once I write a little bit of a story, it all flows out like a dam burst or something. But, watch, in a few chapters I'll be all out of ideas.

Thanks to morphic-M3000 for being my first reviewer! You gets a cookie! -hands morphic-M3000 a cookie-

Please enjoy the story and review!

I own nothing! Except Komaru. Her I own.

It had been years since the day that Kiba moved. Hinata was in eleventh grade. She had tried to convince herself to move on, but it was hard. She flopped back on her purple-and-black striped comforter and blew her bangs in the air. "Life is boring, ne Komaru?" she asked as her canine best friend hopped up on the bed next to her master. Komaru barked in agreement and rested her head on her front paws.

Komaru had grown into a beautiful dog. Her sleek silver fur was always brushed, courtesy of Hinata, and her deep blue eyes were always full of happiness. But Hinata knew deep down that Komaru missed Kiba and Akamaru as much as she did. Hinata stroked the large dog's head absentmindedly. "You miss them too, huh, girl?" she asked. Komaru whined in confirmation. "Yeah, me too. It's about the time they left." Hinata sighed.

Her cell phone rang and she grabbed it off of her nightstand, looking at the caller ID. It was her friend Tenten. "Hello, Tenten-chan." Hinata said, picking up the phone. "Did you hear?" Tenten asked, music blaring in the background. Hinata recognized the song as Bumblebee by Bambi. "Hear what?" Hinata said up. "We're getting a new student tomorrow. No one knows his name yet, but Temari's trying to get the scoop." Tenten reported. "Leave it to Temari-chan to figure it out." Hinata said.

"So far she's managed to find out that his family is in the veterinary field and that his sister is opening a vet clinic just a few ways down from the pier." Tenten said. "Cool, Komaru just got banned from her vet's office. Again." Hinata said, shaking her head ad shooting a sideways glance at her dog, who whined and looked down. "She doesn't seem to like vets, does she? Or people, for that matter." Tenten said. "Tenten, the only reason she doesn't like you is because you smell like cat." Hinata laughed. "Yeah, you can laugh because you don't have a scar on your left leg where that mutt of your's bit me hard enough to draw blood!" Tenten yelled. Komaru barked angrily at her, and Hinata couldn't sworn that she flinched away from the phone. "Gotta go, later." Hinata laughed as her friend hung up quickly.

"You're part of the reason I have only two friends." Hinata joked, flopping down in front of Komaru and petting her head. Komaru just doggy-smiled and wagged her tail at her master. Hinata sighed. "Tomorrow. The prospect of a new friend. What do you think about that, girl?" she asked. Komaru almost pouted and Hinata laughed. "You can't always have me all to yourself, you know. You have to share." she said. Komaru merely licked Hinata on the cheek, like she had done when she was little.

The next day, Hinata sat next to Tenten in homeroom. "Aren't you excited about the new guy?" she asked. "I guess so. He's just another guy." Hinata said, flipping through her notebook. "Oh, Hinata, look, that's him now!" Tenten grabbed Hinata's arm and shook her. Hinata looked up and her eyes nearly fell out of her head and rolled all the way down to where the guy was standing.

In front of the class stood Inuzuka Kiba.

"K-Kiba-kun?" she muttered. "What up with the stuttering? You haven't stuttered since the seventh grade!" Tenten asked. Hinata shook her head, trying to get rid of what she was sure was a dream, standing in the front of the classroom. "That can't be Kiba-kun, Kiba-kun moved away when I was in fifth grade." she was still talking to herself. She refused to believe that the boy, no, man, in front of her was her best friend from when she was eight. She couldn't believe it.

"Class, this is Inuzuka Kiba. He just transferred here from Hokkaido. Be nice and don't rip him to shreds." Kurenai-sensei said, pushing him forward. So her suspicions were true, that was Inuzuka Kiba, walking up the isle to find his seat. Hinata looked around and realized that the only empty seat was next to her. Kiba sat down and waved cheerfully. "Hi, I'm Inuzuka Kiba. Who're you?" he asked.

_Always to the point…_

"You don't remember me, Kiba-kun?" she asked, half playfully and half hurt he didn't recognize his best friend. His brow furrowed in concentration. "Should I?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck confusedly. "Think back to the third grade. You saved a little girl from getting teased and became her best friend." she prompted. It took him a few seconds, but it finally clicked. "You're Hina-chan!" he said, pointing to her. Hinata nodded. "I thought I'd never see you again! God that sounded like some stupid line from a chick flick!" he said. Hinata laughed. "Same old Kiba-kun." she shook her head.

"Well, you've changed a lot since I saw you last." he said. "What, did you expect me to look like the fifth grader I was when you left? This is high school, remember?" she said, tapping her head. He laughed, which sounded more like a bark then anything. "I didn't expect to see you at all, the last memory I have of you is when you came to say goodbye, and your face was all red from crying." he said. Hinata shrugged and finally realized Tenten was looking at her weirdly. "You know him?" she asked. Hinata turned to face her brown-haired friend and nodded. "We were best friends when we were in fifth grade, but he moved away." she explained.

"OMG that's like something out of an shojo anime! Just wait, you two'll fall in love and live happily ever after!" Tenten gushed, getting stars in her eyes. Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Is she a little…" Kiba stuck his thumb in his mouth, pulled it out so it made a popping noise, and twirled his finger around his ear. "Well, n-yeah." Hinata said. Tenten didn't hear then, she was too busy having fun in La-La land. (**A lot of people must go there, I get postcards from there all the time!**)

School ended quicker than Hinata expected, and Kiba caught up with her as she started walking to the Hyuga Mansion. "Still living in the Mansion near the park?" he asked. She nodded. "Father doesn't like change." she responded. "Hey, before you go, listen. Do you need a job?" he asked. "A job? Why?" she asked. "Hana's hiring at the vet clinic. I work there to. And remember Shikamaru, from the fourth grade? Managed to round him up, too." he said. "I guess so, sure!" she said. "Great! See you tomorrow!" he said, waving and running off in the opposite direction. Hinata smiled a little and turned around. Then shrieked.

"Hiya Hinata!" her face turned beet red as her crush, Uzumaki Naruto, stood mere inches from her face. "N-N-Naruto-kun! K-Konichiwa…!" she stuttered, backing away a little. He smiled. "Were you talking to the new guy?" he asked. She nodded. "I-I've known him since I-I was eight, we're good friends." she said, trying unsuccessfully to suppress a stutter. "Was he the one with the weird tattoos on his face?" he asked. "Y-You're one t-to talk!" Hinata defended in a sudden surge of loyalty. After realized she had just (in her own way) yelled at her crush, her face deepened another shade.

He leaned forward. "Are you sick or something? Your face is all red. Do you have a fever?" he asked, placing a hand on her forehead. Guess what happened? Hinata fainted. (I am so unoriginal…)

~X~

Hinata's eyelids fluttered open and she saw a large white dog with his paws resting on her chest. He licked her and she flung herself up, gasping. "Akamaru! God you grew! How've you been?" she asked, petting the dog's head. He licked her hand and barked, his tail wagging happily behind him. "So you woke up. Finally, I thought you killed yourself with that fall." she looked to her right and saw Kiba come into the room. "That Naruto dude was here earlier, but left after about an hour." he said. "N-Naruto-kun…I passed out i-in front of him…" she said, poking her fingers together. "Don't tell me your crushing on him!" Kiba exclaimed. "W-Well, I a-admire his ability to persevere, and…well, he's really kind hearted…" she said. "Kiba shook his head. "I thought you lost the stutter. You sound better without it. Hana! Mom! She's up!" he yelled over his shoulder.

"Hinata! It's so good to see you again!" Hana said, entering the room and hugging the girl. "It's good to see you two, Hana. So, I hear your starting up a vet clinic?" she asked. "Kiba get to you? Yeah, I am. Can I count on you to work there?" Hana asked, backing away. Hinata nodded and stood up. "Hello, second daughter." Hinata looked up she Tsume standing in the doorway. "Tsume-san! It's good to see you!" Hinata said, smiling widely.

"Kiba, walk her home, Hiashi's gonna flip." Tsume said. "'Kay. Come on, Hina-chan." Kiba shrugged his jean jacket on and held the door open for Hinata, who slipped through it with a final wave to the Inuzuka family.

"So, crushing on the blond idiot, huh?" Kiba asked after they were on the road for a minute. "W-Well, n-yeah…" she said, hanging her head. He shook his head again. "I thought you had better taste than that, Hina-chan. I heard your conversation with him. He's such a Goddamn hypocrite." he said, laughing. Hinata laughed a little. "I-I think those marks are natural for him, so he didn't realize everyone else thought he was being hypocritical." she said. He shrugged. "He's still a dolt. Seriously, he got an addition problem wrong in math class." he said. "N-Naruto-kun is j-just a l-little slow, he'll catch up e-eventually." she said. "Why do you defend him? He wasn't the one that carried you, you know!" Kiba said, suddenly turning to Hinata and stopping. "H-He wasn't?" she asked, stopping so she didn't bump into him.

"Of course not! If he had, he would've carried you to his house, or to your house! He didn't even know where I lived! I'm the one that carried you, he was just gonna prop you against a tree because that stupid cheerleader Sakura walked by. If I hadn't brought him back from Crushville, he would've just left you there to chase after the pink-haired flat-chested whore!" he exclaimed. "N-Naruto-kun wouldn't d-do something like th-that! H-He's extremely k-kind, and-"

"Hinata, open your eyes! The boy is blind, he only has eyes for Sakura, just like you only have eyes for him! You got that?!" he yelled. Hinata backed away and frowned at him. "I got it. I got that right now you aren't acting like the friend I had in fifth grade. Come talk to me whenever the Inuzuka Kiba I know comes back." she said, stomping off towards her house.

"Wait, Hinata, I didn't mean-!" Hinata slammed the door to the Hyuga mansion in his face. He put his head into his hands and walked back to the Inuzuka residence, slamming the door shut. "Kiba, don't slam doors!" Hana said from her desk, looking up. "Whatever." he responded, stomping up the steps. "Kiba! What's wrong?!" Hana asked, standing up. All she got in response was the slamming of his bedroom door. She sighed. "Mom, Kiba's having girl troubles!" she called. "You'll take care of it!" Tsume responded. "M-o-m!" Hana whined. "NOW!" Tsume called. "Damn lazy bitch (**1**)."

Hana walked up the stairs and stopped at Kiba's room. She knocked on the door. "Kiba? Open up!" she said. "Go away!" he called, his voice muffled by both a pillow and the door. "I'll kick the door off again." she threatened. "Go ahead, I don't give." he said. Hana twisted the knob and found it unlocked. Kiba was laying face down on his pillow. "What are you doing?" she asked as she closed the door softly behind her. "Trying to suffocate myself." he responded. Hana forced him into an upright position and sat on the edge of his bed while he sat cross-legged next to his (think Inuyasha's pose.)

"What happened? Why'd you get all pissed off?" she asked. "I…I exploded at Hinata." he admitted. "Why the hell did you do that?" she asked. "She was getting all starry-eyed over that boy that made her faint. She kept saying 'oh, he's so kind-hearted, and able to persevere." Blah, blah, blah!" he said, tossing his pillow at the closed door angrily. "Have you met this guy?" she asked. "Well, not formally, but he was gonna dart off because this pink-haired girl that he's crushing on walked by, and it really ticked me off!" he said.

"Sounds like you're crushing on Hinata." Kiba face-faulted.

"What? No way, I was just lookin' out for her! There's no way I could ever be crushing on her! I see her like a baby sister!" he yelled. Hana smirked. "Sure you do, Kiba, sure you do." Hana chuckled, patting his shoulder and get up. "Try and apologize tomorrow. Hinata isn't one to hold a grudge." she said as she left.

Kiba flopped on his back and stared at the darkening ceiling. "Hana's right, Hina-chan couldn't hold a grudge even if she wanted to…but maybe I went overboard a little. Love's a touchy subject, for anyone, but Hina-chan especially…I'll sleep on it." he said.

The next day, Hinata sat down in her seat, immediately flopping over with her head nestled in her arms. "Hinata? You okay?" Tenten asked. "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Kiba was being a jerk." she said, yawning. "What'd he do?" she asked. "It was just some stuff he said. But I overreacted and now he probably hates me." she said. "Yeah right, what universe are you thinking we're on?" Hinata looked up and saw Kiba sitting down. "Sorry Hina-cha, lost my cool last night." he said, rubbing the back of his neck. Hinata sighed and smiled. "I overreacted. Sorry." she said.

"Oi, Sakura-chan!" Hinata looked around to see Naruto yet again pursuing Sakura, who was pursuing Sasuke, who was looking out the window broodingly. "Do you want to go on a date with me, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. "No way in hell, you idiot! Sasuke-kun, wanna go on a date with me?" she turned to Sasuke, who glared at her.

Hinata sighed and slumped forward. "You were right, he only has eyes for Sakura." she said, turning to Kiba. "With the right amount of work, he could have eyes for you." Kiba said, getting a glint in his eye. Hinata looked at him suspiciously. "What are you going on about?" she asked. "Do you want Naruto to like you?" he asked, turning to her. She flinched back, but nodded. "Then I'm gonna help you, to make up for my previous behavior." he said. "Kiba, I forgave you, you don't have to-" he interrupted her. "Just let me help, Hinata! I can't do anything about appearances, but I can help with your attitude and confidence." he said.

"I can do the appearance. Little Hinata here's been chasing after Naruto for years, glad to see someone's taking action 'bout it." Temari said, spinning her chair around. "Sabaku no Temari, Hinata's friend." she said to Kiba. "Hey, I'll help with the appearance, I'm not being left out on this!" Tenten said, facing the group. "Man, this is troublesome, what are you guys doing to poor Hinata?" Nara Shikamaru asked, approaching them. "Hey, it lives! We're helping Hinata get Naruto's attention. We're working on looks and confidence." Temari said, turning to face Shikamaru. "The girl's gotta be extremely smart to get that dobe. It's troublesome, but I'll help too." he responded.

"What are you all doing to my little cousin?" Neji asked, walking up to them. "Helping her shape up to get Naruto. Shikamaru's working on her strategic skills, Temari and Tenten are working on her appearance, and I'm working on her confidence." Kiba said. "I'll help. She could use some training to harden her skin." he responded.

"Then it's official! By the end of this semester, we'll have a whole new Hinata!" Temari announced, "Wait a minute, don't I get a say in this?" Hinata asked.

"Nope!"

Hinata sweat dropped. "Figures…"

**1) Hana made a funny...**

**A/N: Haha, poor Hinata, she's going to end up going through hell and back. Will she get Naruto? Or will he turn her down? You should realize by now the answer, but it gets interesting, trust me. Like it? Love it? Want to burn it? Read and Review please!**


	3. Appearances and Confrontations

I'm back with a third chapter! Woot! And I still have ideas flowing around! It's a new record! Hope you all like it! This chapter, Hinata starts both her training and her new job! Double the work! How will poor Hinata survive? Find out! Read on!

~X~

Hinata looked up at the building in front of her. It was large, intimidating, and made her feel insignificant. She swallowed. "Come on, Hina-chan, it's just the clinic! Stop freaking out." Kiba said, grabbing her wrist and dragging her into the clinic. Hana was waiting for them. "Good, you two showed up on time. We're waiting for Shikamaru. In the meantime, here, find your lockers and put on these." she said, tossing them keys and uniforms. "Great, going from a school uniform to a work uniform! Do we get Casual Friday?" Kiba asked. "Depends on if your good or not." Hana responded, shuffling through some papers. "We are so not getting Casual Friday." he muttered, walking into the locker room.

Hinata found her locker and put her bag in it. After that, she went into the bathroom and looked at the uniform. The shirt was slim-fit and deep forest green. On the chest was written "Konoha Veterinary Clinic" in white and had two white paw prints on either side of the writing. She skirt was tan and went down to a little bit above the knees. Hinata pulled her hair out of the shirt and walked into the lobby. Shikamaru had just shown up, and Kiba had stepped out of the bathroom, wearing the guy's version of the uniform. The shirt was the same color and had the same design on the front, and the pants were the same color as the skirt.

After Shikamaru was changed and back in the lobby, they were all assigned jobs. Hinata was to work the front desk, Kiba was going to take care of the animals in the back, and Shikamaru was going to file papers for appointments. After watching Shikamaru walk reluctantly into the back office and sharing a smile with Kiba before he went back into the kennel, Hinata took her seat at the front desk. After spinning in the swivel chair so many times she felt like the room was spinning, she heard loud snoring from the back office and sighed. She got up, waited for her balance to return, and followed the noise.

"Shikamaru-san…" she said, poking the sleeping Shikamaru on the arm. He didn't wake up. "Shikamaru?" she asked, gently kicking him. Nothing. She snapped her fingers in front of his face. Still no response. She looked around and spotted a water bottle sitting on top of the filing cabinet. She opened it up and poured the contents onto Shikamaru's head. He spluttered and flung himself up. "I'm awake!" he shouted. Hinata shook her head. "If Hana-san catches you, she'll skin you alive and use your pelt to line the animal cages, you do realize that, right?" she asked. "Ah, mendokuse. Why'd I take this stupid job in the first place?" he whined.

"Because you mom will kick you out of the house otherwise?" Kiba asked, sticking his head into the room. "Probably." Shikamaru responded. Kiba and Hinata laughed, and then they heard the bell ring, signaling someone had just entered the clinic. "Crap!" Hinata exclaimed, rushing out to the front desk. She immediately regretted doing so as she saw who the first customer was.

Uzumaki Naruto stood in front of the desk.

She gulped. "N-Naruto-kun?" she asked. "Hi Hinata. I came by to apologize for the other day. You know, for almost leaving you propped up against a tree to go after Sakura. You see, I…uh…um…I have a project due! And she's my partner!" he said. "O-Oh, th-that's alright, K-Kiba-kun would've helped me anyway." she said, buying, or wanting to buy, the lie that he fed her. He grinned the grin that made her heart melt and waved. "See ya later, Hinata!" he said as he left.

Hinata felt like crying as she laid her head down on her desk. He was just trying to make an excuse, right? He didn't want to seem like a fool in front of her, so he made up that story. No one forced him to apologize, right? Hinata tried to pacify herself with these thoughts. It worked, and she was better in a few minutes. If Naruto can lie to her, she can lie to herself.

The rest of the day went pretty well. Lots of appointments were scheduled, and plenty of animals were dropped off, keeping Kiba very busy in the back. At the end of the day, Kiba offered to walk Hinata home. But, the minute they were out the door, Kiba took her arm and dragged her off in the opposite direction. "Kiba-kun, where are we-?" he interrupted her by putting his finger to her lips. "Today your transformation starts." he said with a grin. Hinata gulped as he continued to drag her to the mall. Temari and Tenten were waiting out front by the large fountain.

Before they had left work, Hinata had changed into her normal clothes: a baggy purple T-shirt and a pair of jeans. The girls took one look at her and shook their heads. "We have got some serious work to do." Temari said. Kiba let go of his friend's arm and pushed her towards the girls. "Do your thing." he said. The girls grinned and each took one of Hinata's arms. She looked back at Kiba for support, but he just smirked and gave her the peace sign. She tried to push down the panic in her throat. Temari and Tenten were not known for going easy on their first-time makeover clients.

"Okay, Hinata, there's the popular kids. See the girls, Ino, Sakura and Karin? Watch them." Tenten instructed, pointing to the group of laughing teenagers. Hinata looked at the closest girl, Sakura. She was standing too close to Sasuke, and had her chest pressed up against is arm, which she was grabbing with her pink-manicured hands. She was giggling a high pitched giggled that annoyed Hinata extremely.

"I have to act like that to get Naruto-kun's attention?" she asked. "That would be the easy way. We're doing this the fun way. No, see, that's what guys like Naruto like, girls that gush all over you and mutter hopeless romantic crap in your ear. Your gonna show him how unappealing that is." Temari said. "How do I do that?" Hinata asked. "By being the exact opposite, of course! Opposites attract!" Tenten said. "But the opposite of Jock of Goth." Hinata said. "To Hot Topic!" Temari exclaimed, pointing in a random direction and dragging Hinata that way.

"Temari, Hot Topic's this way." Tenten said, pointing in the opposite direction. "I knew that." Temari turned her friends around and went the way the store actually was. "See, Hinata, examine the girls. Look how close they get to the guys." Tenten said, pointing to the girl's. All three of them had themselves practically on top of Sasuke. "That's disturbing on many levels." Hinata said as Ino grabbed Sasuke's wrists and pushed her entire body against his.

"See, Naruto would kill for Sakura to do that to him. But, he'd be even more intrigued if a mysterious girl would pop into his life. You're going to be that mysterious girl." Temari said. "But he already knows me!" Hinata said. "He knows the current you. But h e won't even begin to recognize the future you!" Tenten said. "Are you sure this will work?" Hinata asked as her friends dragged her to the store. "Positive, Hinata, we can guarantee that by the end of your transformation, you'll be completely happily together with the guy of your dreams." Temari said, patting Hinata on the shoulder. Hinata took a glance at Naruto, then nodded. "Let's get started."

The girls arrived at Hot Topic and forced Hinata to try on many different outfits. The first was a black hoodie with a pale pink heart on it with a black arrow through it and tight black jeans. Neither of the girls liked it on her. The next was a long sleeved red and black off the shoulder top with a black tank-top underneath and baggy jeans. Tenten liked it, but Temari didn't. The next outfit after that was a short-sleeved green slim-fit T-shirt with a black frog in the middle and a black skirt that went a few inches above her knees. Temari like it, but Tenten hated it. Then came the last.

Hinata stepped out of the changing room and was met with gasps. "That's the one." both of the other girls exclaimed. It was a purple slim-fit T-shirt with "To Write Love On Her Arms" written on the side in black and black sparkly jeans. On her feet were black combat boots, and on her hands were purple and black fingerless gloves. Around her neck was a black velvet choker with a yin-yang charm hanging from it. "Perfect!" Temari said. "We're so getting her this one! And she's advertising a good program too! (**1**)" Tenten said.

After paying for that outfit and plenty more, the girls again dragged Hinata around the mall until they came to a salon. "We know a girl here." Temari said, dragging her in. They plopped her down in a chair and a woman with straight black hair pulled into a bun end held together with chopsticks came over. "So this must be Hinata. You two were right, she is gorgeous." the woman said. Hinata blushed and looked down. "Don't be so shy, girlie, when you look down no can see that pretty face of yours!" the woman said.

The woman leaned her back and rinsed out her hair, saying how she was so lucky to have hair like this. Hinata wasn't paying attention, she was too busy wondering if this was actually going to work, if Naruto really was going to notice her. After her hair was washed and dried, she had decided that if he didn't notice her on his own, she'd have to make him notice her.

After the woman was done, Hinata's hair was tipped with purple and had her bangs swept over her left eye. Her other eye had been lined in black, and ended with a little curl at the very end. "Wow, is that really me?" she asked, looking in the mirror. "Yep, that's you! You like?" the woman asked. "I like! I like a lot! Arigoto!" she said. "No problem! You'll have guys fanning over you in no time with this look!" the woman said as Hinata got up. "Come on, Hinata, let's go. Thanks Junko!" Temari said, waving to the woman and leading Hinata out of the store. "Your welcome!" Junko replied.

"Now for the test run." Tenten said. "Just walk by the jocks and cheerleaders and leave the rest to us." Temari said as she and Tenten walked off. Hinata squared her shoulders, stood up straight, and walked by the jocks, who were sitting at a table in the food court laughing it up. "'Hey Hinata, over here!" Tenten shouted. Hinata was just next to Naruto when Tenten had called. He looked over and did a double take. "Hinata?" he asked, his blue eyes nearly bugging out of his head. She turned her head and fought down a blush, waving as she passed. She could feel him staring after her as she walked over to the corner where Temari and Tenten were standing. Tenten was giggling. "It worked! He noticed you!" she said. "With total crush eyes!" Temari said.

"Are you guys done yet?" all of the girls turned around to see Kiba standing there, his hands shoved into his jean pockets. His eyes went to Hinata and e nearly fell over. "What did they do to you?" he asked. "Does it look that bad?" Hinata asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. He shook his head. "It looks great! But if you're going Goth, how is that gonna get you Naruto?" he asked. "Opposites attract, Kiba." Temari said.

"Shikamaru and Neji are on their way. And they're bringing someone they met on the way here. She isn't very popular, and she's new, so they're helping her fit in." Kiba said. "What's her name?" Temari asked. "Don't know yet. But they'll be here…"

"Right now." Neji said, turning the corner and joining the group. Shikamaru trudged lazily behind him, and was followed by a girl with medium-length shiny black hair and large brown eyes. She was looking around, interested in all of the signs hanging around the mall advertising new stores and things. "Guys, this is Haku. She just transferred from Kiri High a couple weeks ago." Neji said. Haku bowed to them all. "You don't have to be so formal, girl, we're all friends here." Temari said. "Really? I've never really had that many friends." she said.

"You can hang out with us, Haku-san. We promise, we don't bite." Hinata said, smiling at the new girl. Haku smiled back. "Thank you. People in Kiri aren't very friendly, and there's a lot of murderers. Me and my older brother Zabuza moved her to get away from all that, he was afraid I would go insane." Haku said. "There's not too many bad people in Konoha. A few very annoying preps, but nothing more than that." Tenten said.

They all sat down and started getting Haku to tell them things about herself. They found out that her parents were murdered when she was eight years old. Zabuza wasn't really her brother, just someone that took her in when he found her on the streets. She just started calling him her older brother out of respect.

After they had all gotten milkshakes from Dairy Queen, someone approached them. "Hey." they all looked up to see Sasuke standing there. "Hey." Neji responded. "Mind if I sit?" he asked. "Why would you want to sit with us?" Temari asked. "Because I can't take all of the laughter over there. No one's even telling a joke, it's all just laughing." he said, shuddering. "Alright, you can sit, I guess. Is it cool with you guys?" Neji asked. "Sure, why not?" Hinata said. "Thanks, cousins." he said. "Nani?!?!" everyone besides Haku, Neji, Hinata and Sasuke said, looking between the two Hyuga and the Uchiha. "The Uchiha and the Hyuga are related. We're not closely related, but still cousins, none the less." Neji said.

"Oh, then he's definitely welcome into the group." Tenten said, leaning back in her chair. Everyone noticed that Sasuke kept shooting glances at Haku, and Haku started blushing and trying to avoid eye contact. Hinata tried to suppress her giggles, along with Tenten and Temari, and Sasuke sent them a glare that shut them up.

After a while, the girls from the popular group came up to Sasuke and grabbed his arms. "Sasuke-kuuun, we're leaving." Karin said. "Fine then, sayonara." he replied, shaking her off. "but don't you want to ride us home?" Ino asked with a wink. "And risk the smell of your perfume permanently stinking up my car? I'll pass. Ride with Kankuro or someone." he said. "Why are you hanging out with these losers anyway?" Sakura asked. "Two of these 'losers' are my cousins, and you all annoy me to no end. Piss off." he said. All of them whined, but didn't let go.

"Excuse me, but I think he wants you to let go of. You're popping his personal bubble." Haku said quietly. All three of the prep girls turned their heads to her. "And just who are you?" Ino asked. "I'm Haku, and I'm new." she said. "Well, Haku, you'd be wise to stay away from my Sasuke-kun, unless you want to loose your good reputation before it even surfaces." Sakura said. "Hey, don't go threatening the new girl!" Hinata said, standing up and loosing all trace of shyness. "And what are you gonna do about it, Little Miss Invisible?" Karin asked, sticking out her tongue. "This." Hinata said, giving the girls the famous Hyuga Smirk and dumping the rest of her milkshake on Karin's head. Karin gasped and backed off. Temari and Tenten shared a glance and picked up their half-finished milkshakes and dumped them on Sakura and Ino, who had the same reaction as Karin.

"You'll pay for this, bitches!" Karin yelled, grapping onto Hinata's long midnight-blue locks and pulling. "You know, if you were a respectable female, you wouldn't have to resort to hair-pulling!" Temari said, stamping on Karin's foot so she would let go of Hinata's hair. Sakura grabbed the tray of cheddar and bacon fries off of the table and dumped them all in Haku's hair. The cheese slopped onto her shirt and stained it. "How do you like it?" Sakura asked, smirking at the new girl, who looked like she was about to cry. "I-I didn't do anything to you!" she exclaimed. "Don't take it personally, Haku, these bitches aren't brave enough to go after the main threat." Hinata said.

"Wow, Hinata's getting some backbone. Good job." Sasuke said, wiping some milkshake that had gotten on his shirt. Hinata smiled and gave the peace sign to her distant cousin before turning back on Karin, who was shouting profanities at her. "You know it doesn't bother me, right? What does bother me is the fact that you think going around half-naked is appealing." Hinata said. Karin flushed an angry red and lunged herself at Hinata, who sidestepped the attack. Karin, unable to stop herself because of the momentum, ran headfirst into the garbage can. "Ooh!" everyone at the table exclaimed, except for Haku. Sakura and Ino went to go get their fallen comrade from the garbage can. She came up with a brown banana peel on her head.

"We're too good for you losers! Later!" Sakura said, turning her nose up and walking out with the others following, Karin desperately trying to paw garbage out of her hair. Everyone at the table minus Haku burst into applause at Hinata's effort against the evil bitches from hell. She did a fake Broadway bow and went over to Haku. "You alright?" she asked. Haku wiped her eyes and nodded. "Come on, let's go get you cleaned up." Hinata help Haku up from her seat and lead her to the ladies bathroom. "I just got this shirt yesterday! And I don't have enough money to buy another one!" she said. "We'll go to Hot Topic and get you a new one, okay?" Hinata asked, reaching in her bag and pulling out her brush. "Try and wash it out as best you can. I'll get the rest." Hinata said.

Haku bent over the sink and turned it on. "What did I ever do to them?" she asked. "They saw you as a threat to Sasuke. They're his personal fan club, and they attack anyone who is a threat to them getting him. You saw the way he was looking at you." Hinata said. "This is why I don't want to be a prep." Haku murmured. "Exactly, because to be a prep, you have to be a bitch, and you certainly are not a bitch." Hinata said. The sloppy cheddar cheese and bacon bits started to run out of her hair.

Hinata started to try and brush the gunk out of Haku's hair, and after a while, it finally came out. "I'm sorry for troubling you like this…maybe my father was right, I am just in the way." Haku murmured. "My father used to say the same thing to me…I just had to prove to him that I wasn't worthless. You're father may be gone, Haku, but he's watching you, trying to see if you improve. She him that you can." Hinata replied, getting the last dried clump of cheese out of her hair. "Thanks, Hinata-san…you know, you could be a poet!" Haku joked. Hinata laughed.

"Come on, let's go get you another shirt so you don't go home with a cheese-stained top on." Hinata said, leading the girl out of the bathroom and into Hot Topic. After finding a shirt that Haku liked, they bought it and she wore it out of the store. It was the very same shirt that Hinata had tried on just a hour previous, the green one with the frog on it. When they approached the group, Sasuke was getting ready to leave. "Haku, do you have a ride home?" he asked, turning to the new girl. Haku shook her head. "I can give you a lift, so you don't have to walk." he said, looking away.

"She'll definitely go!" Tenten and Temari said, putting their arms around Haku's shoulders. "What?" Haku asked. "Okay, great, come on." Sasuke said, dragging Haku down the hallway. She looked back to Hinata for help, but Hinata just shrugged and shook her head, signaling that she had no idea what was going on either. Sasuke turned and both of them were out of sight. "Looks like Haku-chan could be the one to melt the Walking Ice Cube's heart. Ready to go, Hina-chan?" Kiba asked. Hinata nodded, and they departed.

It was starting to get dark, so Kiba decided to walk Hinata all the way to her door instead of just to the park. "So, you and Haku-chan getting along good?" he asked. "I just don't want her to become a victim of those bitches. Been there, done that, it isn't a pleasant experience." she said. "What did they do?" Kiba asked. "Well, at one point in middle school, I was the fourth girl in the group. What I didn't know is that they were trying to make themselves look better by comparison. When I started attracting more attention than they did, they kicked me to the curb and left me there." she said. "You were in the Bitch Group?" Kiba asked in disbelief. "They were playing the fake friendship card, I just didn't realize it. That's why I was the first to react when Karin starting talking down to Haku. I don't want her to get hurt by them like I did." Hinata said.

Hinata opened the door to the Hyuga Mansion and was immediately greeted by a loud bark. "Wow, that is not Komaru!" Kiba exclaimed, pointing to the large silver dog. "Who else do you think it is?" Hinata laughed as Komaru jumped up and placed her front paws on Kiba's chest, licking him in the face. "Whoa, down girl! I missed you too!" he pointed to the ground and Komaru obediently sank into a sitting position, wagging her tail happily at Kiba and panting. He patted her on the head.

"Later, Kiba, it's getting late." she said. "Yeah, see you tomorrow." he said as she closed the door. He sighed and leaned against a tree that grew right alongside the stone pathway that led to the front door of the mansion. "Dear God she's beautiful." he murmured. He didn't see a wide-eyed Hinata looking at him through the curtains.

**1) To Write Love On Her Arms is a program about self-harm, substance abuse, depression, and suicide. You can read all about it by searching To Write Love On Her Arms on Google. It's the first link that appears in the search engine.**

**Yet another chapter posted! Woot! Hope you like it! Read and review.**


	4. Romeo and Juliet

A/N: I'm back! Good God, I'm so sorry, I almost never finish any stories that I write! Gomen nasai ten times over! This is one of my most popular stories, and I just, like, abandon it! Gosh damn it! Anyway, I'm writing this at exactly 1:38 AM on Saturday, and I had been at Tekkoshocon all day. It was fun, and I forced my Dad to try pocky. Can you believe it? He's fifty years old and has only had pocky once! The poor deprived soul…

Anyway, to the story!

Hinata stood there in a trance, her hand holding back the silk curtains as she continued to stare at Kiba's retreating back. Did he really just say that? Did he really mean it? Well, he had to have meant it, he had no idea she was there! She shook her head to try and clear all of the manic thoughts that were swirling around her head.

_It's alright for friends to think the other is good looking. Yeah, it totally is. I happen to think Kiba is hot. Wait, did I say hot? I meant delicious. I mean handsome, yeah, that's it! Handsome! There's nothing wrong with thinking your best friend is handsome, deshou? Deshou?! _Her thoughts were starting to get frantic as she continuously shook her head to try and keep herself sane. It was at that exact moment that Hanabi decided to walk into the living room.

"Hinata-neechan? Are you alright?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion. Hinata turned around and waved her hands hysterically in front of her, her eyes turning into upside down U's. "I-I'm fine, Hanabi-chan! Completely, utterly, totally fine! What would make you think otherwise?!" she asked, making herself seem crazy. Hanabi narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "When did you dye your hair?" she asked. "Huh? Oh, Temari-chan and Tenten-chan got to me earlier today and decided to change my style." she said, running a hand through the black and purple locks. Hanabi eyed her for a few more moments before shrugging.

"Alright, I'll buy it for now, but something tells me there's a hidden motive behind your makeover." she said, disappearing into one of the many side hallways. Hinata mushroom-sighed and let the curtain fall. "That was close!" she whispered to herself. Straightening herself up, she walked into the kitchen to run smack into her father. "Oh, Hinata, you're home la-What in the world did you do to your hair!?!?" he exclaimed, pointing to the locks. "Temari-chan and Tenten-chan pulled me into a makeover and dyed my hair." she explained, shrinking backwards a little. "Without my consent?! Unacceptable! And such a wild color, too! Outrageous!" he yelled. "I-I'm so sorry, Father! It'll wash o-out in a couple of weeks!" she tried to smooth it over before her father went into over reactive mode, but too late.

"I don't want another word on this subject! Go to your room! You're grounded until I say otherwise!" he yelled, pointing his index finger towards the hallway that led to her bedroom. "Grounded?! Father, don't you think you're going overboard?" she asked. "I said not another word!" Subject closed. With a sigh, but no other form of protest, she walked off to her room.

Opening the door, she closed it gently and flopped on her bed face first, head buried in her favorite purple pillow with the Fruits Basket logo on it (A/N: I actually have a pillow like that. I'm not sure if they sell them (they probably do) but I made my own out of an old purple pillow that my mom didn't like anymore.) "I hate having an overprotective father!" she exclaimed into the pillow, her voice muffled. She turned over onto her back and scanned her room.

The walls were painted lilac with white trim along the edges. In the extreme left northeast corner, a green vine was painted up the side and decorated with purple and blue flowers along the way. Her mother had painted that decoration there when she was just a small child. Her father had asked her if she wanted her room redone many times before, but Hinata refused, saying that she would loose the one thing that reminded her of her mother's ability to paint and be artistic.

Her bed was placed in the center of the room, pushed back against the wall. Next to it on the left she had a nightstand that had a picture of her when she had first gotten Komaru when she was still a puppy, and then a picture of her and Kiba and Hana placed right next to it. The picture had been taken after Hanabi's third birthday party. Because of all of the excitement, Hanabi had gotten cranky and Hiashi had marched her into the house to make her take a nap. Tsume, who had been standing by with a camera, watched Kiba and Hinata started playing a game of Kiba's invention. "How to Annoy your sibling" was his favorite game to play. He had taken Hana's hair ribbon and started running around the yard, shouting things like "I gots me Hana's pretty ribbon now, what'cha gonna do 'bout it, Hana?"

Hinata had started running after Kiba, saying that it probably wasn't a good idea to make Hana mad, but too late, Hana was fuming and chasing the younger children around the yard, telling them that if they didn't give her the ribbon back that she'd claw their eyes out in their sleep. Kiba, being thoroughly frightened of his older sister, stopped in his tracks immediately and handed over the ribbon. After the older Inuzuka child had calmed down, Kiba had impulsively jumped at Hinata's back, his hands on her shoulder and the front of his body pressed against the back of hers in an innocent and friendly position. Grinning widely, Hana joined in the mischief and grabbed her little brother around the waist, leaning forward. After gushing at how cute they all looked, Tsume had snapped a picture.

Hinata chuckled quietly at the memory. She and Kiba had had the best of times back then, would being older and wiser and having more friends change anything? Would they be any less friends? Would they be any more friends? Hinata shook her head at the thought and set down the picture. _Don't think like that, _she told herself. _The whole reason you're going through this makeover is to get Naruto-kun's attention, so don't screw it up with other thoughts like that!_

Hinata turned her head to the right. Right next to her bed was a pair of glass French doors that led to the balcony that she had been lucky enough to get. Hinata loved her balcony. It was white marble, and had flowers growing up underneath and around it. Many a nights she had dreamed of Naruto climbing up to the balcony and declaring his love for her. Of course, she doubted anything relevant to that would ever happen, it was all to fairytale-ish, but, hey, a girl can dream, right?

She heard a knock on her bedroom door and sighed. "Come in." she called, looking straight at the ceiling. The door opened and in stepped Hiashi. She looked at him quickly, the only sign of acknowledgement that she gave him. He sighed and sat on the edge of her bed. "Hinata, I know you aren't happy with me right now for grounding you over dying your hair an extreme color. I want to apologize for that." he said. "Apology accepted." she said quickly, happy to be released so soon. "You're still grounded for not asking me before doing said act, though."

She face-faulted. "I should've seen that one coming." she murmured, getting back up on the bed. He smiled at her and, patting her leg, stood up and left the room without another word. She sighed. She did love her father, but sometimes his ways were so mysterious that she every so often wondered if he understood himself at times. Giggling at the thought, she turned over onto her side and stared out the doors that gave her a clear view of the sinking sun. Smiling to herself, she began to hum a soft melody (Claire de Lune, FYI). After a while, she managed to hum herself to sleep.

A few hours later, she awoke to a soft tapping on the doors. Blinking the sleep crust away from her eyes, she saw a shadow standing outside of them and almost screamed until she realized who it was. Flinging herself out of bed, she opened the doors. "Kiba, what are you doing?" she asked. "Visiting." he said, grinning. She sighed and shook her head, but still had a smile on her face. "How'd you get up here, I'm on the second floor." she said. "Simple, I climbed the trellis. Wasn't that hard." he said, gesturing down to the rose trellis that was laid to the side of the balcony. She laughed and rolled her eyes. "My Romeo." she replied, folding her arms over her chest. "Pfft, Romeo ain't got nothin' on me, I'm way more of a man than he was." he bragged, showing off his muscles.

"Well, what about me? Am I comparable to Juliet?" she asked, looking at him sideways. She could've sworn that she saw the faintest pink blush cross his cheeks. "Juliet looks like an unwashed pig compared to you." he murmured. "Aw, that's sweet!" she said, laughing. His blush increased and he started fidgeting around, dancing from foot to foot. "Kiba, is something the matter?" she asked. "Well…I called earlier, and your dad said you were grounded. I thought it had something to do with the makeover Temari and Tenten gave you, and since it was my idea to begin with, I felt guilty, so I…kind of…bought you this. To make up for it, y'know." he added hastily, holding out a small wooden box. She took it and opened it up. When she saw it, she gasped.

"Kiba, where'd you get this?" she asked, holding it up. It was a black piece of velvet with a small sterling silver paw print hanging from it. "Somewhere…" he said, not meeting her gaze. "Kiba, come on, where'd you get it?" she asked. "You know that jewelry place downtown? The one with all of the fancy rings on display in the window?" he described, finally looking at her sheepishly. "You bought it from there?! That place is so expensive, Kiba!" she exclaimed. "Relax, it only cost me about eight weeks worth of allowance." he said. She rolled her eyes. "How much money do you get in allowance?"

"Are we playing twenty questions? If so, I think it's my turn now."

"Just tell me, dangit!"

He laughed a little. "Twenty bucks a week." he responded. Hinata did the mental math. "That's 160 dollars, Kiba! Don't go spending it all on me!" she practically yelled. He put a finger to her lips and shushed her. "Shh! If anyone catches me here, we're both screwed! Keep it down, a'right?" he asked. She nodded, and then moved his hand. "I can't take this, Kiba, it's too much money!" she whispered. "Don't worry about it, just think of it as the start of me paying back all of your birthdays that I missed while I was gone." he said, climbing on the edge of the balcony. Giving her a wide grin, he climbed down the rose trellis and ran off.

Sighing, she leaned against the doors and looked up at the clear night sky, fingering the charm that now hung from her neck. She was so glad she had her best friend back, and was positive she couldn't take another moment not knowing where he was. She was sure that she would always need him to be there. Closing her eyes, she breathed in the scents of the night. Pine and maple trees that came from the park near her home, the flowers that came from the garden below her…suddenly, she felt a familiar presence and opened her eyes to see Kiba standing right beside her. Before she could say anything, he kissed her on the cheek and left again, leaving her standing on her balcony with a hand pressed to her cheek. Stumbling backwards, she crashed through the doors and landed with a thump on her backside. "Itai!" she yelled.

Kiba smacked himself in the head repeatedly as he ran as fast as he could away from the Hyuga mansion. "Baka Kiba, baka Kiba, baka Kiba! You probably just ruined freaking everything! You loser! Get this into your head: She. Likes. Naruto. That's the whole reason she's getting the makeover! You are not permitted to date her!" he whispered harshly to himself. If it weren't so late at night, he would be yelling at the top of his lungs, calling himself names as such.

Still cursing at himself, he hopped the fence that surrounded his house and began climbing up the large maple tree that stood right in front of his room. Swinging from the branch that was facing his window, he jumped onto the hardwood floor gracefully, landing in a crouch position. "And he sticks the landing." he murmured. Suddenly, the light was flicked on and right in front of him was Hana, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Sneaking out?" she asked. "Uh…getting exercise?" he tried to cover it up. "Try again." Hana said. He sighed and sat on the bed. "Yeah, I snuck out, no big deal." he mumbled, sitting cross legged and folding his arms across his chest.

"Where'd you go?" she asked. "No where of your concern." he said, not meeting her gaze. "You went to see Hinata, didn't you?" Kiba started getting frantic. He waved his arms in front of him crazily. "No! No, I didn't! What would make you think that! That's just silly!" he laughed. Hana raised an eyebrow and he finally stopped. "Okay, so I did, whoop-de-flipping-do." he responded. She chuckled. "Forget crushing on her, you're totally head-over-heals in love with the chick." she said, getting up from his bed.

"Huh? No way!" he said, glaring at his sister as she started to leave. "You probably went on her balcony and woke up her. That's so totally Romeo and Juliet." she said, leaving. After a few moments of quietness, he chuckled to himself. "Romeo and Juliet ain't got nothing on me and Hinata." he murmured.

The next morning, Hinata woke up to see Hanabi's face directly above her own. She screamed and flung herself up, promptly hitting Hanabi on the head with her own skull. "Dangit, Hanabi-chan, didn't I tell you not to wake me up like that?" she asked, rubbing the sore spot on her forehead. "Where'd you get that necklace?" Hanabi asked, ignoring her sister's own question and pointing to the choker around Hinata's neck. Hinata put a hand to it and sighed. "Can you promise me not to tell Dad?" she asked.

"No, but I'll try." Hinata sweat dropped, but ignored it and sighed. "Last night, Kiba snuck over here and gave me this." Hanabi leaned in. "Whoa, that's so, like, romance-novel-ish." she said, sitting down next to her sister. "Yeah, and then, after he left, he came back real quick and kissed me on the cheek." Hinata said. "Wow! How are you going to face him today at school?" Hanabi asked. "I was going to try and avoid him." Hinata answered.

"Are you nuts?! You can't do that or else you're friendship will stop completely! Do you think you could take that? You were a wreck whenever he moved away, can you stand him being here, but ignoring you?" Hanabi asked. Hinata sighed. "No, I don't think I could. What should I do?" she asked. "Jst act like nothing happened. Only if he brings it up do you talk about it." Hanabi said, getting up and leaving. "That may work for middle-school relationships, but this is high school, Hanabi-chan, I need to handle this maturely." she replied.

"It's that or nothing, sis." Hanabi said from the hallway. Hinata sighed. "She's right, I'll have to do something. Well, I'll cross that bridge when I approach it. Meanwhile, I'm going to be late! As if I need another reason for Father to be royally pissed at me!"

A/N: Yay, another chapter! I didn't completely abandon all of you! I love all of my readers! Read and review, please!


	5. Realizations and Threats

A/N: Hello, readers! I'm back with another chapter! This one involves tension! –throws confetti all over the place- Yay for romantic tension! Okay, I'm on a candy high. I still have Easter candy left over, and not to mention the awesome gifts I got. I got a Twilight poster, which is hanging on my closet door right now. Before I go to bed each night, I see Jacob Black staring at me. I love it. And I also got a new cell phone! Yay! Anyway, since none of you probably care, or anything, let's get on with the story, shall we?

~X~

"Crap! I'm not gonna make it on time at this rate! Stupid toaster, blowing up like that!" Hinata exclaimed as she ran down the sidewalk, trying to pull her sock up and run at the same time. That was very unsuccessful, and she fell right on her face. She felt a cut stinging right on her cheekbone and bit her lip so she wouldn't curse at her bad luck.

She heard the squealing of someone stepping on the brakes quickly and looked up to see Naruto peering at her over the rolled-down window of his orange convertible. "Need a ride?" he asked, his usual goofy grin on his face. Silent for a moment, she barely managed a nod as she pushed herself off of the cement. Naruto opened the door for her from the driver's seat and she sat down, buckling in and staring straight ahead, determined not to blush.

"Hey, Hinata, you're bleeding." he said, wiping a drop of blood from her cheek. Her face lit up bright red, and the heat spread all the way to her neck and ears. "O-Oh, i-it's…j-just a c-c-cut. N-N-Nothing too serious." she stuttered, and resisted the urge to slap herself across the face. Naruto laughed a little bit. "Don't go trying to act brave. Here, I'm pretty sure I have a band-AID in her somewhere…"

"N-N-Naruto-kun! D-D-Don't let go of the st-steering wheel!"

"Huh? Wha-?"

_**BAM**_

_**CRASH**_

_**SLAM**_

_**BOOM**_

The car had slammed into a telephone pole head on. The windshield had cracked, and little pointy pieces of glass were strewn everywhere, especially in Hinata's skin. Because of the force of the crash, the telephone pole had splintered in half and crushed the hood of the car. Hinata felt warm, gooey liquid run down the side of her head, and the same feeling on her left hip and right thigh. She also felt a sharp pain in her stomach, and before her vision became to blurry, she saw a good-sized piece of glass stuck in the soft flesh of her middle.

She could barely hear the worried voices outside of the smashed car, but she could distinctly hear one concerned voice from inside the car. "Hinata! Are you alright? The passenger side took a lot o­- My God, you're bleeding all over! Help! Someone call nine-one-one!" The last thing she saw before passing out was Naruto's concerned face obscured by blood dripping from her head wounds.

~X~

She woke up to a stiff feeling all around her middle section, thigh, hips and head. After blinking for a few moments, she realized they were bandages. Moaning in pain, she tried to sit up, but felt herself being pushed back down gently. "Don't move too much, it'll only hurt worse." Kiba said. "K-Kiba? Wh-Where am I? What happened?" she asked, laying her head back down on the pillow covered in crinkly paper. "You're in the hospital. You were in a nasty crash on the way to school. Remember? You had gotten a ride with the blonde idio-Naruto, you had gotten a ride with Naruto. I don't know the details, but all of sudden, the car went out of control and slammed into a telephone pole, knocking it over and right onto the hood of the car. One of the branches hit you really hard."

"That tree had the force of a truck." she murmured rubbing her head. Kiba laughed a little and played with a strand of her hair. "The doctors said you'd be fine. But you're gonna be in here for a while. The entire schools outside in the lobby, waiting for Naruto to make his appearance." he said. She flung herself up, ignoring the waves of dizziness that overcame her. "N-Naruto-kun! Is he alright? Is he hurt?" she asked. "Calm down, calm down. He's fine, up and walking, and showing off for the pink-haired billboard. Yet again." he said, looking almost disappointed for some reason.

"S-Sakura-san is here?" she asked. "Yeah. Everyone who saw the crash is here. Hell, even Sis is her-!" Kiba was cut off as two loud barks sounded throughout the hospital, followed by cries of "Get those mutts out of the hospital!" and "Those mangy dogs!" Kiba's eyes widened. "She didn't…" he said. "I think she did…" Hinata said. Without warning, two large balls of silver and white bounded on to the hospital bed, licking Hinata for all they were worth. "Akamaru! Komaru! Chakuseki! (Get down!)" Kiba yelled, pointing to the floor. Both dogs whimpered, but immediately got off of the bed. Akamaru laid his head in Kiba's lap. "I'm sorry, boy, but she has to heal first. After she's better, you can glomp her all you want." Kiba said, patting the large white dog on the head.

"Gee, thanks." Hinata said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and smiling. "Anytime." Kiba smiled. Suddenly, a flustered looking Hana ran into the room, followed by an enraged looking Hiashi. "Hinata!" she was enveloped in a giant hug from Hana. "I'm so glad you're okay! I saw the crash on the news, and it looked pretty nasty! There's blood all over that car!" Hana said. "Please don't say blood until I've recovered." Hinata said, prying herself out of Hana's death grip.

"Hinata, tell me exactly what happened, I want to know." Hiashi said, pushing Hana out of the way and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Well…I remember almost being late, because the toaster exploded for some unknown reason…I was trying to run and pull my sock up at the same time, but that didn't work. I fell flat on my face. That's when Naruto-kun showed up and offered me a ride. I had managed to cut myself when I fell, and he went searching for a Band-AID while the car was moving, and…well, I think you know the rest." she said.

"_That's_ what happened? Oh man, that blonde idiot is too much for me sometimes!" Kiba howled with laughter, holding his stomach as he leaned back in his chair. Akamaru barked in agreement and howled with his master. Komaru narrowed her eyes at Kiba and chomped down. Kiba yelped in pain and held the spot where the dog had bitten him. "Okay, I get it, I get it." he murmured, examining the torn fabric of his school uniform pants.

"Where is Naruto?" Hiashi asked, seething. "I don't know. I just woke up a few minutes ago, and the only one here when I woke up was Kiba." she replied. "I'll be right back." he said, getting up and stomping out of the room. "I'd better go make sure he doesn't decide to neuter the blonde baka. Be right back." Hana said, leaving. Kiba sighed and leaned back in his chair, one arm draped over the back of it in a casual fashion. "So do you still like him? Even after he almost killed you? And didn't have the decency to stay until you woke up?" he asked.

"H-He was just trying to be helpful!" she said. "Hinata, look where he landed you! You're freaking hospitalized and he hasn't even come to ask how you are! How is that helpful?!" Kiba shouted, standing up so fast that the chair slammed into the wall, leaving a dent in it. "I…I…it's isn't…I-I'm sorry, Kiba, I just…" she trailed off and Kiba saw tears falling down her face. He immediately felt guilty and sat down on the bed, gently taking her into his arms and hugging her tightly to him.

"I'm sorry, Hinata, I shouldn't have bursted liked that. Typical me, huh?" he asked. She laid her head on his shoulder and sniffed. "Kiba, what if he doesn't love me back? What if this is all a waste?" she asked, looking up at him. "Then he's more of a fool than I thought. Only an idiot would turn down you." he said, stroking her hair. "I don't think I can take rejection, Kiba. Just sitting next to him in that car this morning, and knowing that he cared about me…it was my closest thing to heaven on Earth." she said.

Kiba could deny it no longer: He was downright jealous of Naruto. He had the most beautiful girl chasing at his heels, and yet he doesn't notice it and goes after one of the smuttiest preps he had ever seen. That blonde truly was an idiot. Kiba felt the exact same way that Hinata felt towards Naruto when he as around her. He was in heaven whenever she touched his arms, or had any form of physical contact.

"Uh, we hate to interrupt such a beautiful moment, but, Kiba, you dog is using a preppy nurse as a chew toy." Kiba turned his head around and say Temari standing in the doorway, with Tenten standing behind her with stars in her eyes, muttering something along the lines of "So kawaii!" He blushed and laid Hinata gently back down on the bed. "You rest up, I'll be right back." he said. She nodded and he left.

He found Akamaru in the lobby, trying to bite a nurse in the leg while she stood on one of the coffee tables, trying to avoid him. "Akamaru, yamete(Stop!)!" he commanded, and the dog immediately trotted faithfully to his master's side, nuzzling his hand. "What have I told you about human chew toys, Akamaru?" Kiba asked. Akamaru whimpered. "That's right. Now come on, let's go back to Hinata." he said. Akamaru nodded and walked alongside his owner.

When they entered the hallway near the cafeteria, Kiba saw a way-too-familiar head of blonde hair. Pushing back the anger, he called out to Naruto. "Yo, Naruto! Hinata's awake, she wants to see you." Naruto was leaning against the cafeteria doors with his hands in his pockets and he was looking around, bored, a cheap imitation of Sasuke's usual aloof stare. The blonde looked at Kiba and shrugged. "So?" he asked. "What do you mean, so?" Kiba responded, walking up to him. "I mean, so, as in, so what? Why would I wanna see her?" he asked. "Say again, Blondie?" Kiba asked, his blood boiling in his veins. "She's totally lame compared to Sakura-chan, and she's way to shy. She has no confidence. Not that there's anything to be confident of, but still." Naruto said.

"You take that back!" Kiba yelled, grabbing Naruto's collar and pulling him upwards. Naruto smirked. "Oh, I understand it now. You're in love with her, aren't you, Inuzuka?" he asked. Kiba's grip went slack and he stumbled backwards. "What would make you think that?" he asked. "The fact that you spend every waking moment with her, and you give her jewelry." Naruto said. "I'm her best friend!" Kiba defended. "Yeah, you say that, but you want to be her boyfriend. Face it, Inuzuka, you are head over heals in love with the girl. Heh, and people call me the idiot, you're the blockhead that fell for her!" Naruto said.

"You knew the entire time, didn't you? You knew that she loved you." Kiba said, feeling the hate brim over. "Yeah. I wanted to see if she had any potential, but none whatsoever. Poor bitch is probably condemned to live alone for the rest of her miserable life." Naruto said. "You lead her on! You don't even care how she ends up, as long as you get your precious flat chested slut of a wilted cherry blossom!" Kiba yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Naruto, who smirked. "You make it sound so harsh, Inuzuka." he said. "Because it is harsh! Do you know how much pain she is going to go through because of your selfishness?" he asked. "Doesn't really matter to me. But she is a fun little toy. I think I'll lead her on for a little longer, just to see how far she's willing to go for her 'love.'" Naruto said. "Not while I'm around, you sorry bastard! Give me a reason why I shouldn't go to Hinata right now and tell her everything you've just told me, and it'd better be a damn good one!" Kiba cursed. "Because she won't believe you." Naruto said, turning his back on Kiba.

"Huh?"

Naruto looked over his shoulder with an evil smirk on his face. "She won't believe you. She's so head-over-heals for me, that anything said against me will be a lie in her eyes. She'll think you're lying just to make me look bad, and the chick will never speak to you again. Meanwhile, I can have all the fun I want with her, and you can't do shit about it." he said, continuing on. "You lying little snake!" Kiba yelled.

"Oh, and Kiba? Tell anyone about what I've just said to you, and by tomorrow morning, your feelings for Hinata will be posted all over the internet."

Kiba leaned against the wall and hid his face in his hands sinking to the floor. "Such is the drama of a teenage boy." he murmured.

A/N: I'm sorry for all of you Naruto-character lovers! I really do love Naruto, but for the sake of Kibahina, I had to make him mean! I'm sorry! I feel so bad for doing this to him, but it makes for an exciting plot twist, ne?


	6. Planning Stages Part Two

**A/N: Oh my god! How long has it been? *looks* quite a few months since I've updated! *sucks at math* I am sooooo sorry! I always do this! I promise, I really promise this time! I won't abandon you guys! Well, not that too many people read this, but, hey, some people do, right? Anyway, to the story!**

"That guy is such a douche bag."

Kiba jumped and looked up. "Dude, Uchiha, don't do that. You're gonna give me a heart attack." Sasuke sighed and leaned against the wall where Kiba was sitting. "I heard all of it."

"All of it?

"Every bit."

Kiba sighed. "How did he get so smart? He's the moron who crashed a car because he let go of the steering wheel to look for a Band-Aid." Sasuke cleared some hair out of his eyes and one of the female nurses stared at him before continuing on her way.

"Naruto was never a moron. He's always been smart, he's just hidden it because he didn't want people hounding him about it. And he's always been a bit twisted. I just didn't think he was this bad." Sasuke reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "Want one?"

"Dude, you're in a hospital."

Sasuke pointed up. "Designated smoking zone. Don't give me that look, I can do what I want." Kiba shook his head. "You're gonna die early." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I only smoke a few a day, I'm working on quitting."

"Whatever. So, what am I gonna do about Naruto?"

Sasuke took a drag on the cigarette and blew out a smoke ring. "He's got a point, Hinata's going to think you're telling lies to make him look bad. She already knows you don't like him. The only alternative I can see that doesn't end badly is her falling out o love with him."

"Yeah, because that's totally possible."

Sasuke stowed the pack of cigarettes and the lighter back in his pocket. "Look, eventually Naruto is going to show his true colors, and Hinata's going to realize he isn't as kind-hearted and caring as he seems. But by then it'll be too late. We've gotta come up with something."

"So, how long until Naruto realizes you've come to the Dark Side?"

"I don't know. I've never been a real part of the group, so it may take a while to realize I'm even less social than usual. Then again, he could figure it out relatively easily, if he pays attention. He knows me and the Hyuga are real close, so he may get suspicious But I really don't know." Kiba sighed and Akamaru whined at his feet, glaring in the general direction that Naruto had walked off in.

"Yeah, I know boy, he pisses me off too." Kiba grumbled as Sasuke reached down and patted the large white dog on the head. "You do realize we'll have to tell the others."

"Huh But Naruto said—"

"Naruto said if _you _tell anybody. But if _I_ tell them, technically _you_ aren't doing anything that's gonna get your crush for Hinata splashed all over the internet." Kiba hung his head, a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his head. "You heard that too?"

"I said I heard all of it."

"Crap…so, Lord of the Pronouns, what's the plan?" Sasuke rolled his eyes. "First off, tell everyone else. If they find out without either of us telling them, they'll neuter both of us, and frankly, I like having balls." Kiba shuddered, knowing that the words of the Uchiha were absolutely true. He could just imagine Temari and Tenten getting so pissed off.

"Yeah, that sounds good. What do we do after that?"

"We wing it and see how it goes."  
Kiba face-vaulted. "That's too vague to work out, Uchiha!" Sasuke just smirked and started walking off. "Just leave everything to me. I'll have Neji call you later."

"I could just give you my number."

"I don't roll that way."

Kiba growled. "Just what the hell is with that guy?"

"Naruto's doing what?!"

The entire group was again congregated at the mall, this time sitting in a secluded booth hidden behind some plastic plants near an excellent but relatively unknown smoothie shop that hardly had any customers. Sasuke had selected the location himself, saying that he knew a guy who worked at the smoothie shop who promised to warn him if Naruto was coming. Being a prep, even an anti-social one, had its advantages. You know the right people who would do stuff for you.

Sasuke shushed them all. "You heard me." Tenten and Temari looked ready to kill someone. The girl with the brown buns in her hair was even cracking her knuckles.

"Calm down, you two. No direct approaches." Sasuke said. Temari cracked her neck. "I never knew Naruto could be this devious. He never seemed smart." the raven-haired boy sighed, leaning back in his seat. "I've known him since we were in kindergarten. He's always been a weirdo. Never actually coming out and directly doing things, working in the shadows. I may not like what he's doing, but I have to admire him at the least."

"Well we don't!"

Kiba chewed on the end of his straw. As Sasuke had instructed, he had remained quiet throughout the entire ordeal. He started tracing a crude design on the table that someone had etched in with a pencil to keep himself from screaming.

"Why aren't you saying anything, Kiba? I'm surprised you aren't trying to kick that crap out of him now." Neji said, sitting with his arms crossed. "Sasuke told me not to talk." he responded simply, sucking some of his smoothie noisily out of the straw.

"We have to keep this thing off the radar. No one can know that the rest of us know. We have to let Naruto think that he scared Kiba into being quiet while we try and work this thing out."

"I know this isn't cool or anything, but isn't this something we should bring to the adults?" Shikamaru asked, playing uninterestedly with the silver hoop earring in his earlobe. Kiba shook his head, figuring he was allowed to talk now. "No good. Even if the adults found out, there's nothing stopping Naruto from spreading his malicious gossip. Even if he gets banned from all outside interactions, he still has his group, and they'll spread it for him."

"There's no way we can take this to the adults. Not yet, and not unless Naruto threatens to kill him. Or Hinata." Kiba felt anger rise in his chest and banged his fist on the table, glaring at Sasuke. "He's going to rape her!" Sasuke quickly slapped a hand over the Inuzuka's mouth, effectively silencing him. "Shut it. He never said rape. What he meant was seduce. It isn't rape if both people agree to it." Kiba growled and pried Sasuke's hand away from his face, sitting down while trying not to explode.

"Dude, trust me, the idea doesn't appeal to me either. But we have to stay low. I think we'll know when he's planning on making his move. For now, we stay in the shadows until we're sure how to act." Sasuke said, attempted to soothe Kiba. It didn't work and he chewed angrily on the end of his straw until he accidentally ripped it off. Pissed, he threw the empty cup at the garbage can, not caring that he missed.

He was interrupted from his internal rage by his phone ringing in his pocket. Grumbling to himself, he pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. It was Hinata.

"Hello?"

"Kiba, guess what!" Hinata sounded excited.

"What?"

"Naruto just asked me out!"

The Inuzuka froze, his grip slackening on the phone. This could not be happening.

"Kiba? Are you there?" he shut the phone, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

"Son of a bitch."

**I think my writing style had changed a bit since the last time I've updated. I think it's better. This chapter's mainly dialogue, not a lot of actual action. But I still like it. I hope you do to! Read and Review!**


	7. Stake Out

A/N: Well, I'm back. It took me forever to come up with a decent idea for this, so I apologize! But I am updating, so there! I'm on Spring Break, so I have time to write now. School sucks, huh?

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Uchiha?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "If it wasn't a good idea, I wouldn't be doing it, now shut up before we get busted." Kiba growled slightly as he turned his head back to the front.

"I feel like Edward Cullen." **(1)**

"Technically, you'd be Jacob Black."

The two teenagers were huddled behind the shrubbery that grew around the fancy French restaurant that Kiba couldn't pronounce the name of. Both of them were decked out in black, which meant they had to stick in the shadows because, one, the lights were very bright and two, everyone else was dressed in formal wear.

Two teenage boys dressed in hoodies and jeans would stick out like sore thumbs.

There was some fancy classical music playing that vaguely sounded like Beethoven to Kiba, even though his classical musical knowledge wasn't very broad. Women in pretty dresses and men in tuxedos walked into the restaurant like it was a ballroom.

"How the hell could Naruto afford this place?"

"Inheritance. Remember, his dad was one of Konoha's greatest politicians." Kiba sighed. "Lucky bastard."

"Here, go check in with Tenten and Neji." Sasuke handed the Inuzuka his cell phone and motioned for him to hide behind the building. Grumbling incoherently, he obeyed his orders and dialed Neji's number.

"Yes?"

"Anything important happening?"

It was a bit hard to hear due to the chatter in the background. Actually, even with his excellent canine-esque hearing, Kiba couldn't understand anything.

"Dude, I can't hear a word you're saying."

There was the sound of a door slamming in the background and the music ceased. "Better?"

"Much. Now, report."

"Nothing interesting is really happening. They're just sitting there, talking. It doesn't look like it's anything serious, but he keeps making her blush."

"She always blushes around him."

"Yeah, but he's- oh shit!"

"Neji what's-" he was cut off by a beeping noise.

"Damn it!"

* * *

This wasn't a very dignified position for a Hyuga to be in.

Neji was literally standing on the toilet seat, crouched down so his head wouldn't be visible over the top of the stall door. He had quickly rushed in there when Naruto had entered the bathroom, and was quickly loosing his dignity the longer he was forced to stand there.

Naruto was standing in front of the mirror. At least, that's where Neji guessed he was. The speaker playing the fancy music was right overhead, so it was difficult to hear, but he could tell that Naruto was talking to himself, maybe giving himself a pep talk. Either way, it was crucial information that Neji couldn't miss.

"This is going great! By the end of the night, she'll be right in my hand. I can mold her however I want. This is perfect. " he laughed slightly, then stopped. "I suppose I could just get her tonight…naw, it'll be more fun to play with her for a bit. Heh, that poor mutt's gonna be so angry…"

Neji fought to control his breathing. The last thing he needed was to blow the entire mission by giving away his cover.

He heard Naruto leave and hopped down from his position, kicking open the door out of pure anger.

"How dare he think he can toy with my cousin like that?!"

* * *

Naruto sat back down at the table with his usual grin in place. Hinata sat with her hands folded in her lap, and she was toying with the strap of her purse nervously.

She was such a loser.

But she did have a nice body, Naruto would give her that. The dress she had on accented her curves, and Naruto could imagine running his hands up and down her…no, thinking thoughts like that would blow it. He knew that he, like every other teenage boy, would get a look in his eyes that just spelled "rape."

As much as he didn't want to, he pushed those thoughts away. "I'm back."

"Oh! Um, yes, I see…"

"You know, Hinata, you should stop stumbling over your words. Your voice would be so much prettier if you spoke clearly." her face lit up in a blush and she looked down.

"Y-You think so?"

Actually, her stutter was annoying and he wanted her to knock it off. But he couldn't say that.

"Yeah, definitely. Be confident, there's a bunch to be confident about." he reached across the table and placed a hand on her bare arm. She looked down. "Ah…th-thank you…"

"Hey, no stuttering!"

* * *

"I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna kill him…"

Tenten glanced at Neji nervously, one brown eyebrow raised. The two of them had been placed on stake-out duty, and she had been dressed in a pink Chinese style dress. Neji was dressed in a plain black tuxedo, and the Hyuga was now almost ripping the table cloth trying to prevent himself from getting up and smashing the blondes head in.

"Neji, you already knew he was planning on messing with her, why are you so hostile now?"

"There's something about hearing straight from the ass's mouth that makes the hate genuine."

Tenten felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of her head.

"I see…"

* * *

"Dude, will you get your freaking face out of the window?! You're gonna get caught!"

"I gotta know! If he's doing something then I need to get in there and kick his ass!"'

Sasuke yanked Kiba back into the bushes by his hood. "Heel, damn it, don't blow your cover!"

"Let go of me, damn it, I didn't see them yet!"

Sasuke was about to reply when the text alert on his phone went off. He flipped it open, letting Kiba go for just a second to read the text. His onyx eyes opened wide when he read it.

"Dude, we've gotta book it."

"Huh?"

"We've gotta go, moron!"

"Why do we gotta-"

"Sasuke? K-Kiba? Wh-what are you two doing here?"

Both boys turned slowly to see Hinata standing at the corner, her head cocked in confusion. Naruto was standing a few feet behind her, his blue eyes narrowed in anger.

"…Damn it."

**(1) - Edward Cullen = stalker. No doubt about it. Sorry fan girls.**


	8. Consequences

**A/N: Back again! I'm really proud of how this is going! It's a very fun story to write, and it's interesting to see how much my writing has changed and improved since I started writing! So, thanks to everyone who reads this, and please enjoy!**

"What are you two doing here?" Hinata repeated, taking in the situation. Kiba standing there looking in the window, Sasuke sticking his head from a nearby bush.

"Were you spying on me and Naruto?" both boys swallowed. "Hinata, this isn't what it looks like!" Kiba cried in an attempt to save both of them.

"Then just what is it?" Naruto interjected, glaring at both of them. Kiba returned the glare fiercely while Sasuke took over the job of trying to cover their obvious epic failure.

"Kiba took a shortcut near here earlier and lost his wallet. We were trying to find it and Kiba was trying to look in the window to see if anyone was around that we could ask if they've seen it."

"Then why are you guys wearing black?"

"It's freezing out here. Black absorbs heat."

"You're lying, aren't you?" both boys flinched at the raw anger in her voice. It was still soft, but Kiba was rather frightened. The Hyuga family was trained in martial arts since they were small children.

"I can tell both of you are lying. Why in the world were you spying on us?" Hinata sounded hurt more than angry, like it was a betrayal of trust.

The more Kiba thought about it, the more he realized that it was a betrayal of trust. She hadn't pried into his personal life this much. Sure, being friends, she had managed to squeeze a few secrets out of him in the past, but she had never gone this far, unlike him.

He whimpered like a whipped dog.

"Hinata, why don't you go wait in the car? I wanna talk to these two." Hinata looked up at him, almost ready to object.

"I'll only be a few minutes, alright?" she paused and nodded, turning around and walking towards the parking lot.

Once she was safely out of sight and hearing range, Naruto turned on Kiba. "What did I tell you, Inuzuka? If you told anyone, I'd tell the entire world about your crush on Hinata. You remember that, don't you?"

"There's no way I'm letting you toy with her like this. If I can't approach you directly about it I'll work in the shadows if I have to." Kiba replied, sticking his chin up in a show of bravery he didn't quite feel.

Naruto glowered. "How many other people know?"

"Is that relevant?"

"Stop dodging the question and answer it, or I'll do worse than post your secrets on the internet."

Kiba sighed. "Why should I answer? And you should spend less time interrogating me and instead be questioning as to why Sasuke is here."

Naruto blinked, then turned to his "best friend." His blue eyes were set into a hateful glare.

"Why are you here?"

"Because I wanna be."

"You're just as bad as Dog Breath."

Sasuke folded his arms casually, staring Naruto straight in the eye. "I don't take kindly to people screwing with my cousin. And I mean that in both ways, you little bastard."

"So he told you?"

"I found out by myself. I heard you in the hospital. I was the one who told everyone else, not Kiba, so you have no reason to libel him. Back off."

Naruto took a step back with a smirk on his face. "I should've known you'd be a traitor. Just like that blasted older brother of your's. Must run in your family." Sasuke's black eyes widened.

"What was that?"

"Sure, it's just backstabbing a friend now, but soon you'll be climbing up the ranks. You'll start betraying friends in bigger ways, like turning them into the police, and then you'll start killing them, just like Itachi."

Sasuke was shaking in anger. "You take that back, Naruto!"

"Aw, did I strike a nerve? We all know the story about your infamous older brother. I'll bet Dog breath over here knows about it too. Hell, even innocent little Haku probably knows about it, and she's from Kiri. The kind-hearted older brother who turned into a cold-blooded killer because he wanted power. And poor little Sasuke was just an eight year old."

"I swear to God, Naruto, if you don't shut up, you'll be trying to talk through a fat lip!" Kiba was in shock. He had never seen Sasuke Uchiha, THE Sasuke Uchiha, loose his cool like this. He was shaking, his nostrils were flaring, and his eyes were wild with barely contained rage.

"I heard that Itachi was close to the Hyuga clan too. Didn't he kill one of them too?" Naruto had that sly grin on his face that reminded Kiba of a fox. How he wanted nothing more than to rip it off his face.

"I remember what he said to you, too. Remember, when we were little, and you told me? He told you to get stronger so you'd be able to kill without remorse as well as he could. Starting your training a little late?"

"Naruto, lay off!" Kiba finally intervened. He knew that one more comment could push the Uchiha over the edge, and no one would benefit if Naruto came stumbling out of the alleyway covered in blood.

"What's the matter, Inuzuka? You mad that I'm pissing off your new best buddy? You should know that Sasuke normally doesn't care who he's friends with, as long as they have the ability to give him power."

"Lies!" Sasuke cried, beginning to lunge forward. Kiba grabbed his arm in an attempt to hold him back, but the boy fought like a wildman.

"Let go of me! I'll kill him!"

"And then you'll be like Itachi, just like he said!" Sasuke stopped struggling and looked at Kiba with a wild expression that contained, rage, pain, and agony all at the same time.

Kiba helped him stand up correctly and turned back to Naruto, who was smirking with his hands in his pockets. "You've officially gone over to the dark side. As soon as the rest of the group gets wind of you hanging with the looser group, you'll be thrown off the popularity ladder. I wonder if even Haku will want to pick up the pieces."

"You leave her out of this!"

"Don't piss me off and I will. If I catch either of you doing anything to interfere with me again, not only will I tell the world Kiba's secret, I'll tell everyone about your and Haku's relationship."

"There is no relationship!"

Naruto laughed. "They don't know that, now do they?" he turned to Kiba.

"And as for you…"

The sound of a fist hitting Kiba's stomach resounded throughout the alleyway, as did his gasp and wheezing coughs as blood came up.

"That's your last warning. Screw up again and I'll do worse, trust me."

Kiba stood up, glaring, and, with a battle cry, launched himself at Naruto. He knew he was being hypocritical, after just telling Sasuke to not resort to physical violence, but he couldn't help it. You don't hit an Inuzuka and not get hit back. It doesn't work that way.

Naruto, being off guard received the full force of the attack, grunting as blood began streaming from his mouth. He cracked his jaw back into place.

"Stupid move, Inuzuka."

Naruto moved quickly, faster than Kiba had anticipated. Before he could turn around, he heard a sharp crack and a grunt of pain.

Sasuke had taken the hit meant for Kiba.

"Dude…" Kiba muttered, his eyes wide with horror as Sasuke fell on his knees, clutching his abdomen. He coughed, and blood splattered onto the ground near Naruto's feet.

In the adrenaline rush his rage had created, he was able to move quickly and land another hit on Naruto's chest, but Naruto came back with a much stronger hit to his shoulder. He ignored the pain and aimed a kick at Naruto's knee, intending to force him to the ground.

But the attack missed and, in one swift motion, Naruto had knocked Kiba's legs out from under him, forcing him to the ground.

His vision swam, his head pounded. He couldn't think straight…since when were there three Naruto's?

Blackness was starting to creep onto the edges of his vision as Naruto smirked, staring down at the two boys.

"Well, I shouldn't be hanging around here much longer. Hinata's waiting."

"Y…You sorry bastard…" Kiba grunted as the blackness covered everything. His head hit the pavement with a loud thunk.

**A/N: I'm really making Naruto mean, aren't I? I love the character to death, honestly, but it isn't hard to imagine him being this mean, right? Anyway, thanks for reading!**


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